I had no idea until researching quotes for my blog posts that commonly understood quotes are credited to incorrect people, and many times incorrectly. Sometimes, not at all correctly. This particular quote is a person no one seems to knows but yet it is credited to him again and again- but that’s all anybody really knows.Did that deter me from using it? Hell no. It’s still a great quote

She was born from a time when women where suppose to leave the music and the dark clubs to men. Sister Rosetta Tharpe forged herself a place in history as a black woman who could play louder and better when her race and her gender were suppose to say silent and dumb.

Her inability to remain silent speaks to the idea that the light will always surface, unfettered by the muck weighing them down. The roads that seem impossible, will be filled with others who will not remain silent; The longer we choose that path, the more will see that path as viable. Unacceptance of the status quo comes in many forms. Find yours.

It sometimes makes me ill to think that my desire to make clothes is actually involving myself in such a sick industry. The only job theoretically that I could do more harm to the environment is if I made a job transfer to a nice oil company. That’s insane. Last time I checked I just wanted to make clothes.

It’s my decision to make clothes that some deem too pricey. Wal-mart sells cheap shirts, why can’t I? Am I really just part of the problem anyways?

All I can promise is my clothes aren’t killing people. Every person, (besides me) is not suffering to make my clothes. Lives are not being cut short to work in unsafe working environment to sew my clothes. Nobody is handling chemicals that will slowly poison them. My clothes had no temporary home on these deplorable factory floors.

Because I made that choice. Don’t get me wrong as an independent designer I could never complete for price. Never. The choice to do the opposite isn’t exactly cheap.

I choose to not choose the cheapest way to make my clothes and not to make cheap clothes. I will not kill people to get a better price. No, really. You will not walk away will a $20 bag of clothes from me. I have no interest in that race.

And It’s not about every purchaser make being perfect and mindful. It’s about choosing wisely when and often as you can and all of us choosing a world we want to live in.

If you would like to educate yourself more on the subject I highly suggest “The True Cost” currently on Netflix . It’s a great watch to see how fashion and our purchasing choices affect the world we live in.

And yes, I can spell easy.

Self expression can be daunting. In the last few weeks many people are finding themselves expressing themselves perhaps far more than even planned, including me. It’s great to live somewhere that we can express ourselves.

Alice in Wonderland has always held a fascination for me. I adored the classic cartoon as a kid. I wanted to stroll through a giant garden of singing flowers, even if only to be kicked out. I was heartbroken as my middle school presented Alice -the musical and my complete lack of being able to carry a tune made me not even an option for my beloved Alice. My silent appearance as a less vocal dancing card was a much better fit though also soul-deflating. In an obvious delayed retaliation to the unfairness of my impaired singing ability, I was forced years later by my added teenage angst to paint my self portrait as Alice falling down the rabbit hole. Don’t worry, I do not let my complete lack of singing ability stop me from singing … And loudly. I am sorry

Music, the humanity of it all

The great thing about music is it means so much. So much, but never the same. You can share the same favorite songs but you will never know a song like another person knows the same song. Music reminds me there is humanity. We all need a little extra humanity lately.

Working on cleaning up some patterns. There’s sometimes a sense of power to be able to think of something and then be able to make it. However if I were being truly honest, I would have to admit just because I can draw it doesn’t mean it works out quite the same as it does in my head. Sometimes the math & reality just wins over the art.